


Cutting The Deck.

by Azrael_Doll



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Deck of Many Things, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-04 14:59:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13367154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azrael_Doll/pseuds/Azrael_Doll
Summary: Based on a tumblr post:"If Jester EVER gets her hands on a deck of many things, she’ll switch it with Mollymauck's tarot cards."





	Cutting The Deck.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not gonna lie this turned out way more poignant that I intended it to be. Also the cards that Molly draws were actually the three I drew when writing this, so that's how I decided. 
> 
>  Set a nebulous time later in the campaign.
> 
> [The tumblr post.](https://cacklebarnacle.tumblr.com/post/169676327490/prediction-for-the-new-critical-role-campaign)
> 
> [My wonderful beta LuminereLucifer, go check out their fics!](http://archiveofourown.org/users/LuminereLucifer/pseuds/LuminereLucifer)

At first she doesn’t realise what it is she’s found whilst rifling through the corpses after the fight, it just appeared to be a folded over case, she’d put it away as they had divvied up the gold and any other recognisably magical loot. It wasn’t until later when they were camping in a clearing away from the caves they'd fought in, that she remembered the item. The others are all asleep, curled up in their respected places around the small smokeless fire. She’s meant to be on watch but well the thought of what it could be niggles in her mind and she finds herself pulling the pouch out. Could it be jewels? Or a cool magic item? 

Grinning she opens to up to reveal... parchment? No; cards. She pulls the deck out and she can feel the magic thrumming through her hands, it is a magic item. Oh Molly would love these. She can feel the heavy waxed vellum that seem to have inlays set into them, she can trace the pattern with her fingers. Jester tilts the deck towards the fire trying to get a better look at the back covers, which are purple and gold. It’s perfect for Molly. 

Should she pull one now? She toys with the idea for a moment; her finger itches to do so. Her impulsive nature that’s been stoked by Nott’s company isn’t helping. ‘But no,’ Jester thinks to herself, ‘If I want my fortune I’ll ask Molly to do so for me. It’s only right after all.’ 

She’ll give them the deck tomorrow, Jester smiles to herself as she puts the deck back, her smile widens with the thought, 'What’s the fun in just giving it to them?' So she finished her watch and swaps with Beau, setting in for a nights rest. 

Jester looks for an opportunity the next day but Molly spends most of the time absently shuffling their deck in their hands. It seems to be a nervous habit of theirs. It’s fascinating to watch the fanning and flaring of cards as they jump from hand to hand, seeming to dance under their fingers. But at the same time this makes swapping the decks even harder, it takes a few days until eventually she finds the perfect moment to swap their old deck for the new one. 

It’s after another skirmish; they’re all tired and slightly filthy, though at least some of them know what a bath is. She uses her healing as a cover as she swaps the decks, feeling the warm approval of her deity as she pulls the exchange off. 

She watches out of the corner of her eye as she heals the others, but they don’t take out the deck. She frowns slightly to herself; she wants to see their reaction. She’s finish healing a nasty gash on Fjord when she sees them reaching for the deck. But before they can draw them they’re swept back up into the adventure. 

 ~*~ 

* * *

 ~*~ 

Their cards are different. Gone is their old trusted and true deck that had been with them through bad reads and good. It had been slightly worn at the edges deck, but they’d loved the warm colours and artwork on the cards. This new deck feels a much finer quality, made of heavy vellum and waxed to protect the cards from the elements. The back of the cards are a rich purple and they have a gold filigree design etched into them. The backing alone is exquisite. 

They tap the deck with a finger, where did they come from? It’s possible their old deck was under an enchantment, but that reasoning doesn’t seem right. Molly's eyes flicker over to the rest of the group; they’d finished up with the work they had been hired to do, and were resting outside in the courtyard of a tavern, the rare sun shining down on them. Jester glanced towards them, the smile she wore when she’d pulled one particularly good trick dancing across her face. So it had been her then. But when had she pulled the switch? Molly thought for a while, tapping and shuffling the cards absently, the rhythmic movements helping them to think. 

The last time they’d seen their cards was the yesterday at breakfast. They’d gone to get them out after the fight but they’d been interrupted... Of course! She must have switched them when she healed them. Molly smirked, knowing she had probably kept their old deck. They might as well test the new one. Three cards sounds about right for the first hand, it was the worldly standard for tarot. The cards warmed their fingers as they announced the number and Molly paused, surely she hadn’t given them something too dangerous? 

They pulled the first card that felt right. 

The Jester. Brother to the joker, and often mistaken for him, though not as ill an omen. The artwork is as divine as the backing of the cards are. For a moment the hanged man covered in shadows, filled with sorrow and promises unfulfilled stared at them, before fading to reveal the court jester dressed in the harlequin's outfit, juggling whilst doing a one arm hand stand, their feet folded over their head. Their eyebrow raised in challenge. A flare of magic left the card and travelled up their arm. Somehow the magic made Molly feel more capable than they did a moment ago, skills and abilities unlocking in their mind as if they had been there all along and they’d merely forgotten where they had put them. The card then left their hand and placed itself back into the deck.  

Molly glanced over at the others, Jester was staring at them a concerned expression staring to form on her face. Molly formed their flamboyant smile and nodded to her before Beau pulled her back into the conversation. They should join them soon; else they’d start to think they’d turned into Caleb or Yasha.  

The second card then. 

The Flames. This one felt like ice after they drew it, not dissimilar to their scimitar when activated, a seeping numbness creeping up their arm, as if the card was leeching all the heat from their body. The card itself couldn’t be more different than the feeling it evoked. Full of blood and a demonic entity wreathed in flames, promising pain and retribution. A dull cold weight settled in their stomach. They shivered uncontrollably; knowing somewhere, somehow, they’d made an enemy. The card dissipated in a puff of searing flames and smoke. 

Molly briefly closed their eyes before pulling the last card, the compulsion to do so too strong to resist. 

They squinted and then snorted to themselves. The Moon. ‘Of course,’ they thought dryly. It looked almost lifelike as it travelled across the nights sky, and like a blessing that eased the worry of the previous card, Molly now knew they had an ace up their sleeve. They smiled to themselves at the silly pun, as this card burst into starlight and floated away. Molly tucked the rest of the deck into its holder and joined their friends. 

"That was mighty well played Jester." Molly smiled and sat next to her. 

"I thought so too." She grinned, "Did you like your present?" 

"I do believe it's worth a pretty copper." They winked, "So thanks for that." 

She pouted slightly before brightening, "Will you read my fortune?" 

"Why, of course I will!" Molly flared the cards and held them out for her, their smile gleaming in the sun, and their many pieces of jewellery chinking as they cocked their head to the side slightly. 

Jester squealed and pulled a card turning it to face them. The Void. The card depicted a yawning portal to inky darkness, hard to focus your gaze on as the black pattern twisted and shifted. Their gazes met and they saw the moment they both realised what it meant, before Jester's eyes turned dull and she collapsed back against Yasha. The card vanished when no one was looking. 

They end up having to go to a different plane to rescue her, trekking through swamps, fighting monsters and getting downright sodden and filthy, before finally returning her spirit to her body. Jester laughs about it all the time, she still thinks it's the greatest joke she's played on the group and on Molly in particular. She never did give them their old deck back, but that's fair they suppose, they did swapped it for something else. 

Molly does keep the magical deck, and Jester wears the gem she'd been imprisoned in on a chain around her neck. 


End file.
